The Illustrious Prince eBook

“I don’t think you’ll get Penelope
to agree with you, mother,” she said.

“Why not, my dear?” the Duchess asked.
“I heard that you were quite rude to him the
other evening. We others all find him so charming.”

Penelope’s lip curled slightly.

“He has so many admirers,” she remarked,
“that I dare say he will not notice my absence
from the ranks. Perhaps I am a little prejudiced.
At home, you know, we have rather strong opinions
about this fusion of races.”

The Duchess raised her eyebrows.

“But a Prince of Japan, my dear Penelope!”
she said. “A cousin of the Emperor, and
a member of an aristocracy which was old before we
were thought of! Surely you cannot class Prince
Maiyo amongst those to whom any of your country people
could take exception.”

Penelope shrugged her shoulders slightly.

“Perhaps,” she said, “my feeling
is the result of hearing you all praise him so much
and so often. Besides, apart from that, you must
remember that I am a patriotic daughter of the Stars
and Stripes, and there isn’t much friendship
lost between Washington and Tokio just now.”

The Duchess turned away to greet a man who had paused
before their couch on his way into the restaurant.

“My dear General,” she said, “it
seems to me that one meets every one here! Why
was not restaurant dining the vogue when I was a girl!”

General Sherrif smiled. He was tall and thin,
with grizzled hair and worn features. Notwithstanding
his civilian’s clothes, there was no possibility
of mistaking him anywhere, or under any circumstances,
for anything but a soldier.

“It is a delightful custom,” he admitted.
“It keeps one always on the qui vive;
one never knows whom one may see. Incidentally,
I find it interferes very much with my digestion.”

“Digestion!” the Duchess murmured.
“But then, you soldiers lead such irregular
lives.”

“Not always from choice,” the General
reminded her. “The Russo-Japanese war finished
me off. They kept us far enough away from the
fighting, when they could, but, by Jove, they did make
us move!”

“We are waiting now for Prince Maiyo,”
the Duchess remarked. “You know him?”

“Know him!” the General answered.
“Duchess, if ever I have to write my memoirs,
and particularly my reminiscences of this war, I fancy
you would find the name of your friend appear there
pretty frequently. There wasn’t a more brilliant
feat of arms in the whole campaign than his flanking
movement at Mukden. I met most of the Japanese
leaders, and I have always said that I consider him
the most wonderful of them all.”

The Duchess turned to Penelope.

“Do you hear that?” she asked.

Penelope smiled.

“The Fates are against me,” she declared.
“If I may not like, I shall at least be driven
to admire.”